Something that has been plaguing me for a while is: How should an electronic worksheet look?
When I started with eLearning my primary focus was substituting what I already had. Electronic worksheets meant a pdf of an existing worksheet. But as I was starting to get the hang of this eLearning thing I wanted to do more than substitute. And then they Hyperdoc Handbook came across my path. At first, I did not want to buy it, after all I know how Google Apps work. But then I got curious and decide to spend the money and believe me it was money well spend.
The Hyperdoc Handbook is not a thick book, only 122 pages, but it is crammed with great ideas and examples, and it completely changed the way I look at designing activities. For the first time, it feels like I understand the difference between working on paper and working digitally.
The fist few chapters deal with the theory of eLearning, and although I am familiar with most of it, it was good to read through it again. But it is the second part of the book that I found the most valuable. In describing how to create your own Hyperdoc they authors share so many of their ideas and examples. I just wanted to start creating new activities.
If I can give one piece of criticism, it is that nowhere in the book is a clear description of what they consider a Hyperdoc to be. Given that Hyperdocs are a very fluid term and each teachers Hyperdoc will look different, but I was half way through the book before I started to form a picture in my mind of what we are busy with.
As you would expect The Hyperdoc Handbook was designed to be read as an ebook, with lots of interactive links that you can just click on. However, I decided to buy a hardcopy, mainly so that I can share it with my colleagues and use it as a reference. I was pleasantly surprised at how user-friendly even the hardcopy book was. I downloaded a QR reader on my phone, and whenever they were referring to an example, I quickly scanned the code and voila I have it on my phone.
If you are in any way involved with designing teaching activities for learners with personal devices, I would suggest you get on the internet now and order your copy.
For more information click here.
The Hyperdoc Handbook – Digital Lesson Design Using Google Apps
by Lisa Highfill, Kelly Hilton and Sarah Landis
Softcover, 122 pages
Publish in 2016 by EdTechTeam Press
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